If nothing else, Kellie Pickler is real – from her openness about her troubled upbringing to her quirky Southern personality – meaning you pretty much know what to expect when you see her in concert.

Kellie Pickler, in file photo

If she misses some notes or has awkwardness in her stage presence, it’s the fault of anyone attending if they’re surprised. After all, despite Pickler finishing sixth on “American Idol,” she’s had three albums that topped the country charts and singles that have gone gold and platinum. People like what she does.

That was the Kellie Pickler the standing-room-only crowd got Saturday at Sherman Theater’s Summer Stage at Mount Airy Casino in Mount Pocono, when Pickler gave her first concert since winning the 16th season of ABC-TV’s “Dancing With The Stars.”

Her 80-minute, 16-song show wasn’t a showcase of great singing, but it was real: A singer who did her very best on mostly good songs, with down-home charm stage banter between them. And she gave those who knew what to expect a broad offering: several songs from each of her albums, a couple of covers and two new songs, including her new single from a disc she said should be out by fall.

Pickler’s voice is sometimes too affected – on the opening “Little House on the Highway,” or her lessor hits “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” or “Makin’ Me Fall in Love Again.” But even when her pitch wasn’t perfect – on “Stop Cheatin’ on Me,” her effort was strong and she seemed to work hard.

It was better on lower-range songs such as “Tough,” on which she was straight-forward and sassy.

And on more traditional country, such as the pairing “Where’s Tammy Wynette” – one of her best – and “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind,” which not coincidently was one of her bigger hits. A cover of George Jones’ “White Lightnin’” also was fun.

It was a good sign that her just-released single, “Someone Somewhere Tonight” was one of the night’s best: a strong song on which Pickler, seated on a stool, pushed herself most.

The crowd interaction was a significant part of the show. Pickler actually engaged in short conversations with audience members – talking about naming the dog her husband, songwriter Kyle Jacobs, gave her for winning “Dancing with the Stars” and, of course, about her experience on that show.

“What a crazy roller coaster that was,” she said, apologizing for wearing boots instead of her usual high heels because her feet are still swollen from “three months of intense training. I had so much fun on the show, but being out on the road – this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Her songs continued that conversation. She said her husband hates her singing Melinda Schneider’s “I Wanna Be Married,” but she said, “He’s not here.” She said revengeful “Rocks Instead of Rice” was for an ex-romantic partner. And for “My Angel,” she told of being raised by her grandmother.

That song was too overwrought, but “I Wonder,” written for her absent birth mother as her first post-“Idol” song, was very touching, indeed, and extremely well performed.

Pickler saved her best for last. She absolutely sang her heart out on “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You” and, without introduction, an emphatic “Best Days of Your Life,” her biggest hit, to close her main set.

She returned for an encore of her signature “Red High Heels,” sung nice and nasty. And real, just like Kellie Pickler.

Supporting act Christian Porter, the Stroudsburg bar singer who made it through the early rounds of the current season of NBC-TV’s “The Voice,” played a 50-minute set of 10 songs that showed he should have, if not won the show, certainly gotten a lot farther than he did.

Christian Porter on 'The Voice'

His original songs ranged from OK (the opening “All For You”) to very good (“I Belong With You,” a nice country shuffle with soft drums behind the acoustic guitar that he played throughout his set).

Most of his set was good alt-country: The quiet and gentle “Dreaming of You,” nicely played on his guitar; a fun, loose “What I Sing to You” (like Pickler, Porter’s voice is much better when relaxed) and the bouncy Sugarland-esque ”The Ukelele Song,” on which he – surprise! – played ukulele.

And, of course, Porter spoke about his experience on “The Voice,” on which he made it to the first competition round of mentor Blake Shelton’s team before being eliminated.

“It was a good time,” he told the crowd, saying he got to hang out with Adam Levine and Usher. “I went in for the heck of it … And they liked it. Unfortunately, I got kicked off the show early.”

He played a song he said he was saving for the show’s live rounds, a slow, lounge-y version of fun.’s “We Are Young,” sometimes in falsetto. He played the song that got him eliminated – Tom Petty’s ”Won’t Back Down,” starting acoustic solo before his full four-person band kicked in.

“I won’t back down,” Porter said. “I’m going to keep on doing what I do. Music is what I do.”

And he brought on stage Savannah Berry, the Texas teen who also was on Shelton’s team and was eliminated one round after he was. Together they did a strong version of The Civil Wars’ “Barton Hollow.”

He closed with the song that won him a spot on the show, a slow-burning cover of LMFAO’s “Sexy And I Know It,” that was much better than he did on the show, with his band behind him. And then a good new song, “High to Low,” that had a jazzy Jason Mraz vibe.

Porter announced he will have a headlining show at Stroudsburg’s Sherman Theater on July 19, with Berry as special guest. Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 7.

And the next show at Mount Airy’s summer stage will be a free concert by country singer Gretchen Wilson on June 16. Tickets will be distributed at 1:30 p.m. that day at the casino entrance.

If you want an opinions in a civil and respectful manner.
Then maybe you should be more civil and respectful toward Kellie.

Posted By: Rose | Jun 2, 2013 1:38:17 PM

Kellie is 1 of the best vocalists! She tweeted that she's sick this week, so it's amazing that she performed at all. Your review is the only 1 in 7 years to say anything negative about her vocals. Other reviewers said she's pitch-perfect, always on key and has powerful vocals. Rolling Stone, Billboard, CMT, Saving Country Music, and many others named her latest album 100 Proof as the best country album of 2012.

Posted By: Chris | Jun 2, 2013 8:44:31 PM

I am amazed that this reviewer was at the same concert that I was! Taking into account that Kellie is still sick, you could only hear it slightly in her voice. Her vocals were spot on in every song in spite of it and I agree with Chris, that it's amazing she did concerts all week in the first place. The audience flipped for Kellie and the new song was sbsolutely breath taking and sounds even better live than it does on the CD!

Posted By: Kira Youssef | Jun 2, 2013 9:56:28 PM

The holidays came early for country music singer/songwriter Kellie Pickler and her husband, songwriter Kyle Jacobs, who received a special delivery on December 16th – an entire barrel of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey personally delivered by Master Distiller, Jeff Arnett.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.